Hashicorp: The Young, Hot Startup Worth $1.9 Billion
Hashicorp is an open-source software firm that has quickly gained traction. Last Thursday, investors stumped up $100 million that valued the company at $1.9 billion. Some of its tools have 45m downloads. It’s expected to dominate in most departments, including customer service.
A coffee company just raised $200 million
Chinese coffee unicorn Luckin Coffee is an ever-expanding chain with a comparable mobile ordering feature. Even having raised $200 million, the company–in some experts’ view a rival to Starbucks–wants more capital to bring its valuation beyond $2bn. Luckin already commands almost 60% of China’s coffee market, and will continue to expand quickly. “We have plenty of cash,” CEO Jenny Qian Zhiya said recently, creating waves of envy across the startup world.
SAP acquires Qualtrics for $8bn
SAP has acquired Qualtrics in what is the German software giant’s second-largest deal, and which experts expect will add 7.5 to 8.5% to SAP’s revenue. SAP made the deal before American firm Qualtrics reached its expected value at IPO, a deal that founder Ryan Smith was hesitant to complete. Qualtrics’ 9,000 customers should translate to a healthy growth for SAP’s cloud revenue.
Grab bags $250m
Automakers Hyundai and Kia have announced a pilot scheme with Singaporean rideshare giant Grab, to roll out a fleet of electric vehicles. According to Grab, which acquired Uber’s southeast Asian business this April, Singapore will trial its plans to “maximize cost efficiencies for Grab’s driver partners.” At a $6.6bn valuation, there is plenty of scope for additional partnerships.
TripActions set for takeoff with $154bn
TripActions, a travel tech company aiming to make business trips easier, received $154 million in a Series C funding round that includes Zeev Ventures, SGVC and several others. With its AI technology and user-friendly options, TripActions plans to use the cash to develop its targeted services.